VIDEO: Ray Rice Talks To College Students About Life, Mistakes and Priorities

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Thursday, December 7, 2017
Jacob Troxell, WBAL NewsRadio 1090

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice spoke to students at Liberty University about his life and domestic violence on Wednesday.

Rice says he wants to speak out to youth to save lives.

"Me going through everything I went through with domestic violence actually uncovered the brutal truth that I was just becoming a better football player but I was becoming a really bad person," Rice said. "I definitely am in a better place today."

Rice played for the Ravens until 2014, when footage of him striking his then-fiance surfaced and led to his release from the team. The video became a national news conversation.

"I failed miserably in terms of my career of putting my career first instead of putting my wife first," Rice said. "I had [my priorities] all wrong, I had it football, family and God. Reverse that order...I know a lot of people who have that order mixed up."

Rice, now a boys football coach in New York, says he frequently speaks to youth about mistakes.

Rice discussed how his mother was verbally abused in her past relationship and that he blanketed those problems with football. Today, he attempts to let football and his story to facilitate tough conversations with others.

"Anyone out there going through something, it doesn't have to be domestic violence, you got to be courageous enough to ask for help," Rice said.